In this economic recession, many businesses and nonprofits are struggling, but the Waunakee DeForest Ice Rink organization continues to see support for its Expo Center.
Todd Scheffler and Eric Olson, both members of that nonprofit organization's board, say despite this tough economic climate, the ice rink organization has received $1,175,000 in cash donations and between $300,000 to $400,000 in in-kind donations.
During the last month alone, the members raised $80,000 in cash, and received a Zamboni valued at about $80,000, they said.
The organization is calling its rink an Expo Center, and its members envision it as an ice rink during the winter months with an indoor site for trade shows and other events in the warmer months. It will serve a number of user groups, Olson and Scheffler said.
The village has land donated by developers Don Tierney and the MLG Group for the rink at Hogan Road near the skateboard park.
And according to a study the organization funded, it could generate $500,000 per year for the Waunakee area economy.
The study shows currently, 6,000 area youths involved in figure skating and hockey travel 30-40 miles to skate at rinks in McFarland, Prairie du Sac, Middleton and the Dane County Ice Arena, and spend about $170,000 on ice rental fees.
Scheffler and Olson point out that the youths and their families also take their business out of the community, purchasing gas, groceries and other goods in those communities.
They stress that the rink would be open to all, not just to hockey players.
"It's something everyone could use," Scheffler said, adding that people of all ages enjoy skating.
And Olson believes the rink would bring economic growth to the village, he said.
He noted that a community in Minnesota with a population of 12,000 built two facilities which bring $1 million into the community.
When the rink organization kicked off its capital campaign with former NHL player and UW men's coach Mike Eaves, a hotel developer attended, Olson noted.
Olson and Scheffler estimate the rink will bring 2,500 unique visitors, and they will bring their families and friends. During tournaments, those visitors will dine out, buy gas, and shop for other goods in Waunakee.
Scheffler said according to a UW Extension study, a rink built in Onalaska in 2001 now brings an estimated $500,000 into the community per year.
Already, the rink organization has created budget scenarios - worst, middle and best cases.
The worst shows the rink operating in the black with a small profit at the end of each year to return to its capital fund, Scheffler said. Line items are included for the facility's maintenance, as well.
A rink manager would be hired, but the user groups would be responsible for concessions and maintenance. Those groups currently spend time fund-raising and could instead dedicate that time to staffing the concession stand and other tasks.
Both Scheffler and Olson are from Minnesota where ice rinks operated in a similar manner.
User groups, including high school teams, would spend the same on rink fees, but would save time and money on transportation.
Also, when ice rinks open in a community, the number of users tends to grow, spreading the cost out to a larger number, Olson said.
Currently, the organization estimates the rink construction cost at between $3 million and $3.3 million. But Scheffler and Olson say they may be overestimating now that materials and labor have come down in price.
"We call it the perfect storm for building right now," Olson said.
While the organization continues to raise funds, it has appeared before the Waunakee's park and recreation committee seeking a donation for the remainder of that price tag. The park and recreation committee expressed enthusiasm about the prospect of a rink.
"The parks and rec committee has endorsed the concept unanimously," said Bill Barlow, village administrator.
Any public funds invested could mean returns for the community, Barlow added. But officials are looking how the funds might be offered.
"Whatever we do, the village is not going to write a check for the project," he added. "The village will have a role in completing that project if the board chooses to go in that direction."
That role could include site improvements or possibly constructing the building for lease by the hockey association.
"This would be a very serious legal matter, and we would have to get very serious legal involvement in the documents," Barlow said, noting that there are statutory limitations to the village's involvement.
But Barlow agrees that the rink would be an asset to the community.
"It is the opportunity for economic development," he said. "Hockey rinks, in my experience, are generators of economic development. I've seen in two communities where rinks were built and witnessed firsthand what happens when that takes place."
Tournaments, competitions and other activities at the rink draw people to the community and could generate more commercial development in the Hogan Road/Hwy. 19 area, he said.
Barlow added that there could be a return from the hotel/motel taxes generated by people coming to Waunakee for tournaments.
"I think there's a real good prospect that an ice skating rink will help generate traffic and translate to commercial development," Barlow noted.
The rink could also offer other recreational opportunities nearby.
"One of the things we don't have reliably because of the weather is an outside skating rink," he said.
The village could build an outdoor rink next to the indoor rink and use its mechanical equipment to make ice when the weather fails to cooperate. In the summer, that area could be used as a splash park, Barlow added.
"There are some real good symbiotic relationships to the creation of this that are hard to find," Barlow noted.
Currently, the finance committee is considering the rink organization's request for funding, and the village's attorney will need to review any agreement before the village board considers it.
